So, we went to Sydney today for my Portfolio Review at Sydney Uni. We being my sister (she graduated from Sydney Uni this year!), my father (Driving Monkey extraordinaire) and me (partial degree princess). We left after 7 a.m, and Mia and I slept the entire way down. We are hardcore party people. We made it to Sydney for breakfast at the best coffee bar in the city, Workshop Expresso. I, of course, don’t drink coffee. But Workshop iced chocolate? Like liquid crack. Seriously, I can’t think of a drink more addictive.

Then we headed off to Sydney University. Wow, that school is gorgeous. It’s basically in the buildings of an old mental asylum (which would be awesome… if I hadn’t been watching American Horror Story. Okay, I’m just kidding XD), and is gorgeous. Old sandstone buildings, beautiful green grounds. Or rather, on my University Comparison Scale – I – This place sucks, it’s like a prison and you need hiking boots to get around vs. 10 – There are hotels that aren’t this fancy, and I can safely wear heels, or go barefoot!, Sydney Uni ranked a charming 8.

I managed to wrangle a Review with one of Mia’s favourite lecturers, S, who was awesome and super enthusiastic. Some of the advice he gave me was a little different than Mum’s friend T gave me, so I’m combining all the ideas. The best thing is that the updated guidelines say any A2 sized works – or bigger – can be photographed, so I don’t have to lug a giant artwork to Sydney.

I also got a look at some parts of the end-of-year show, and some work was incredible. An artist named Sarfa (i’m not sure that’s the spelling) has drawn the most incredible lifelike portraits. Another one of my sister’s friends did these two amazing portraits of a character from Homestuck, and another girl – Bridget – did a series of stylised images that were screenprinted – using up to seven colours. For anyone not familiar with screen-printing, it’s very precise work, with no room for error. As well as the printmedia works, I saw this incredible glass work, with glass ‘bubbles’ littered all over the floor. It was incredible.

After the uni, we went into the city, and Mia and I hit David Jones. They had an awesome Ted Baker display. in an old-fashioned sweets cart, and I am totally in love with Ted Baker’s Tishaa laptop case. I can’t seem to find one online, so hopefully when I get my new laptop, they’ll still have some left. We checked out the shoe department – it sucks – and the Christmas department.

Where I totally inquired about the price of Valencia. Who is Valencia, you ask? Valencia is a Christmas cow that stands about knee-high. Hand-painted and airbrushed with golden hooves and horns, the first year she was there, she was apart of half-a-dozen other animals, all worth several thousand dollars. They all sold, except Valencia. Valencia has been there for roughly six years, now, being stuffed into a corner and covered with lights and/or tinsel. She’s been seriously damaged and, as of today, one of her ears is missing. I adore Valencia, so I asked how much they want for her. They no longer have her on the books, so they’ll be calling me. I really hope they give me a reasonable price, because she’s awesome and I’d enjoy trying to fix her up.

My father took us to the sushi train for lunch, which was delicious and amazing and awesome – tempura prawns, sashimi, scallop and veggie roll, eel… I could go on I just love Japanese food. We hit Kinokuniya afterwards, and then Gorman, where I tried on the most amazing, awesome, wicked pair of wedges that must be mine. I have no idea how, but I need them. They were so comfy and amazing-looking. They come in pink and silver, and I don’t know which colour I want!

We left after that, since it is a two hour trip home. Hopefully when we go back down next week for my formal interview, oh dear god, we can hit the Wii U demo store, Gorman and Kinokuniya again… I’m a simple girl at heart It was a good and fairly casual day. Except now I’ve fallen behind on NanoWrimo. I’ll have to catch up tomorrow!

Hello Sunshine

Hi, I'm Lexie - a 29 year old Sydney girl currently finishing her degree in Media Arts, and dreaming of becoming a published author. I'm a writer, reader, illustrator & designer. Huge fangirl-nerd, and perpetual over-thinker. More?